This course is designed to provide students with an introductory understanding of Anglo-American law. It starts with a rather detailed discussion of the establishment of modern judicial review and the workings of the United States Supreme Court. Next, general features in common law development and procedures will be taught. The third part of this course is devoted to understanding how judicial power is exercised in common law jurisdictions (particularly in the American federal legal system). Lastly, some of the important developments in Anglo-American legal culture and education will be discussed.

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Based on the Socratic teaching method, this course requires student participation in class discussions. Students must read assignments before coming to the class. In order to facilitate class participation, students will be divided into groups with scheduled assignments. In addition, students must submit case briefs or reflective notes in English several times as required in the course syllabus. It should be noted that all of the instructions, class discussions, and the writings of the mid-term brief and final exam will be conducted in English, which has been the tradition of this course in the NTU law department. This requirement is by no means to discriminate against students with rather poor capacity in English, but, instead, is intended to be a better way to provide students with an accommodating learning environment in which they feel comfortable learning and making legal arguments in English.